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T
aylor finished speaking as numerous emotions ran through her eyes. “What happened then?” Taylor just shook her head. "Hannah contacted me again weeks later, said she wanted to have nothing to do with Annette. Yesterday was the first time I talked to her after years. I do not know what happened that night. Now that you know everything, I know I do not come back here again. Do not let Annette know anything.
She does not deserve the pain of knowing her mother abandoned her." Taylor refused to meet my eyes and tried to leave. “What about this pendant?” I showed it to her. Sorrow filled her eyes as she replied, "It's Hannah's; we bought it together when she was pregnant the first time around." Has Hannah been stalking me? How is that even possible? “What happened to Sophia?” Taylor shook her head. “I had contact with Jacques before he died. He said he gave Sophia away when he reached the city.
He did not want to give Hannah any chance of ever going near her. He then had you and named you Victoria as a tribute to the life he could have had.” Hannah is my stalker. I was named because of her. I had so many mixed feelings about the whole thing. I was determined to catch Hannah this time around.
Nathan and I drove back to the city together. Annette stayed behind. Before we left, she pulled me aside and said, “You and Mum were talking for quite a while, is everything alright?” I assured her that everything was okay. Taylor just turned out to be an old acquaintance. Annette did not inquire any further. My heart broke for her. She has an entire life outside of this calm, and she does not even know it. It is going to explode around her one day. Till then, may she enjoy her peace.
I entered my apartment. Nathan had already left. After putting my keys down, I turned on the living room light. It looked the same. Everything was exactly where it should be, except for one thing. After last time, I had placed a small piece of paper on the ledge connecting the door of the dining room to the wall before I left.
The piece of paper should have been stuck there if no one had entered the house. However, the paper was lying on the floor. Someone had been here and opened that door. I pulled out the new pocketknife I had bought. Silence. Everywhere. I do not know if it was only my suspicion, but the entire apartment felt like a stranger to me. My ears were ringing because of how silent it was.
The rustling of the curtains, my footsteps against the hardwood floors, the night air, everything felt ten times louder in the silence. I could hear my own breathing. Somewhere, a dog could be heard howling in the streets. Every detail in the house felt like an invasion. I jumped up as the grandfather clock chimed on the first floor.
My heart stopped for a split second when that happened. I continued walking toward my bedroom when I heard someone running behind me. Before I could turn around, I was hit in the head by something hard. Click, click, click. What is that? It was making my head hurt. Laughing? I groaned and held onto my head.
Everything was blurry and spinning. The clicking will not stop. It was like someone was pounding on the inside of my head, and I could not get rid of it, no matter how much I tried. Why is the furniture falling? Am I falling? My living room merged together in my head as I fell. I was falling. I heard laughter. Click, click, click. I refused to lose consciousness. Yet, I saw darkness. The darkness enveloped me. Silence. Darkness.
